SinkholeOdds

Sinkhole risk in Washoe County, NV: Mostly deep or small

Mostly deep or small

Some soluble rock, mostly deeply buried or in a small share of the county.

On soluble rock
2%
At or near the surface
2%
Buried under cover
0%

What to do about a house in Washoe County

Sinkholes are uncommon here; watch for new depressions after heavy rain or leaking pipes.

That works out to roughly 101 of Washoe County's 6,316 square miles on soluble rock, 101 of them with the rock at or near the surface. With about 507,280 residents (80 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 311 map points about 4.5 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Worth reading for this county: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Washoe County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Emery County, UT, about 489 miles east. 1 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band; the ground changes quickly around here.

What Washoe County is built on

The largest mapped soluble unit here is the Tuffaceous sedimentary rocks (sandstone), Late Eocene to Late Miocene in age, covering about 1% of the county. Next is the Shale, mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, and carbonate rock; sparse volcanic rock at under 1%.

Against the rest of Nevada

Washoe County ranks 17 of 17 in Nevada for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 57% of US counties on that measure.